Blood of the North
by Ichko
Summary: A surprising message from the mysterious lady of the largest castle in the land sparks events that would either save the world or doom it before its time. The glorified game of thrones just got itself a new player, one that fears no man, living or else. Will the Lady of Harrenhal give in to old hatreds over nonexistent slights or will she do what is best for all?
1. Chapter 1

**Blood of the North chapter 1**

 **I do not own ASOIF or Warhammer**

* * *

It was one of those rare occasions where Eddard took to personally training his sons, both of them. Rodrik Cassel was a good man and a good warrior, but the lord of Winterfell always wanted to spend more time with his children and standing on a balcony, watching, he sometimes felt like an outsider.

Attack, block, attack, block. Most of the time, the old master at arms in Winterfell pitted the two boys against one another, but now Ned was fighting his trueborn and was taking it slower. At fourteen, both boys were at a level that was to be expected for their age, although Jon was already definitely better than Robb.

As Robb dodged another swing and the two more or less switched positions duo to Ned's momentum, the lord's eyes fell on his wife, his eyes widening. She was constantly fussing over the newest member of their family and it was a surprise for her to be away from Rickon, in a training yard no less. Her expression, however was mixed and one cannot read what exactly was going through her mind, but troubled would be one way to describe her. Her eyes were fearful, yet hateful while her overall expression remained stern and expecting.

"That would be enough for now." Ned simply stated, what can only be described as a whine escaping the future lord of Winterfell's mouth. It was rare for their father to spar with them and Robb and even Jon were unwilling for it to end so soon, even if the latter remained composed and did not voice his displeasure.

Without leaving the dull training sword behind, he came to stand before his wife. Without a word, she handed him a letter, the broken grey wax depicting a wolf and a bat adoring the seal.

' _Well, that explains a lot'_ he simply though. With his wife's stance on bastards, it was not surprising that she did not like the lady of Harrenhal. That, along with the fact that the ruler of the largest castle in the land was also immortal. Quickly reading through the message, he was surprised from it, but was not prepared for the nearly instant outburst from his wife.

"You cannot agree to that!" Caitlyn stated with determination, yet her eyes were wide and fearful.

"It is rare for girls to be fostered, but she is kin. Besides, the south may do them some good." He simply returned. In truth, he would have to think a lot about this, but the training yard was not the place for that.

"You are not seriously considering that, are you?! That woman, that bastard is unnatural! And you want to send your two daughters to her cursed castle?!"

"She is kin." Ned firmly stated. "And she saved Robert's lives and mine more times than I care to admit."

"Kin?" scandalized asked Caitlyn. "The child of some Stark and Whent we know nothing about! And all she had for proof was her appearance and a sword!"

"And what of her herself? She claims sickness but I don't believe it. What kind of sickness makes one immortal?"

"The same one that turns a man's skin into stone." Simply, yet firmly returned the lord, the air of finality to his words. "I have not come to a decision yet so leave the matter be."

* * *

That was over a month ago, now.

Eddard rode at the head of the column as they headed south, a small party of forty men, half of whom would remain at Harrenhal to guard his daughters. Somehow, yet unsurprisingly, word has spread of Lady Schnee's offer and both his daughters were eager to go south, much to their mother's dismay.

The younger had a childish sense of wonder and he had to restrain the smile from his face as he saw her more or less jumping up and down, beginning him to allow for her to go south. While the elder one was more reserved in expressing her desires, she had the tales of knights and southern lords sadly imbedded far too deep already. Harrenhal was but a week from the capital. It would not be surprising if lady Schnee took them there during their fostering.

He still cannot quite wrap his head around it, fostering girls. Maester Lywin confirmed that it can and has happened and was not completely unheard of, yet there was hardly any example in the past hundred years or so. They had passed the Trident but a few days ago, his memories turning grim, yet he still can remember her clearly as if it had happened but a minute ago. Clad in a deep red dress, yet moving effortlessly even in the deep waters of the faithful river, a sword as big as Ice cutting Martel and Targaryan soldiers with little effort. Until then, she was just Karla Schnee, but it was shortly before the battle that he noticed the tassels on her sword, a wolf and a bat, and asked her about them, that girl with red hair and blue eyes.

She simply returned it was memories from the families she had never met. She called the woman old nan, the one that had raised her. She had said that she was an unwanted child of two great Westerosi families. Ned needed little to know the rest. She was a bastard, yet there were but a handful of houses that had wolves and bats in their sigils. Infact, he can think of two houses for the bats and a single one for the wolves… his house. If she was indeed a child of a Whent and Stark, that notion was fueled further more by his own daughter that rode beside him. He would dare say, the two of them looked almost like sisters. Having gotten off the Kingsroad a day and a half ago, Harrenhal was in view for quite a while, the massive towers appearing as if mountains in their own right.

He remembered the old fortress, the one where the tourney that started all was held. While for the most part the walls themselves were intact, nearly all towers, be it the defensive ones or the five massive inner towers were in some shape or form damaged, stone altering between the natural white and scourged black, the picture before him was slightly different.

In an hour they would be inside thus the greatest 'ruin' in the lands was revealed to him. The wall and towers on it was fully repaired and cleaned, the battlements replaced with spikes that from a distance looked like teeth while the towers now instead of flat tops were capped with sharp dark-red roofs.

The highest tower was also fully repaired and cleaned, a similar dark-red roof capping it as well. The kingspyre tower, if memory served. The second highest looked to be under repair and even as they approached, he saw workers chip away a massive piece of melted stone and even from his distance, he heard the sound it made as it hit the ground.

Ned had to wonder from where did Lady Schnee get the money for such a massive undertaking. He doubted if the whole North can finance something of this scale. Something else then clicked in his minds. Before the Targaryans, this was the most powerful fortress in the land with perhaps Storm's end and Casterly Rock been able to rival it. But now, not only was the lady of Harrenhal restoring it, it seemed she was also improving it.

So deep in thoughts and memories was the lord of Winterfell that he barely noticed that they were just outside the main gates. Two square stone towers flanked the surprisingly simple gate, it been a combination of both a wooden double doors and a portcullis, two massive banners hanging on either side, one white with a black bat and another black with a white wolf. However, above the gate stood a new construction, one of wood. An overhang, topped with a roof and thin slits for archers.

Entering the massive courtyard, Eddard was surprised to find that his horse was not in mud, but rather pavement. It was still dirty, but it was white dust, probably from all the reconstruction going on around. Once inside the walls, he could clearly see that the lower structures have all been repaired or at least it seemed so from the outside. He idly noted, however, circular large breaks in the cobblestone, septs he assumed since the circles themselves had breaks at seven points.

For all its grandness if one could use that word, the courtyard felt empty, even with all the people running around although most were construction workers by the looks of them. Nevertheless, the northern party was expected. It was a small reception, but a reception nonetheless.

At the foot of the tallest tower stood lady Karla Schnee herself, flanked by several men in full plate armor and a maester but a step behind her. For a moment, he was thankful that he had brought his girls's septa down with him seeing as there was not one waiting and there was not a sept at all. But then he remembered just what fostering was. Boys learning from a lord, although in this case, he supposed, it would be girls learning from a lady.

Casting another look at Karla, he found her just the same as he remembered her, all those years ago. Infact, despite his best attempts, his memories were blurred and as such when he laid eyes on her, for a second he thought he was looking at an older Sansa. Dismounting a good distance away, stable boys running to take the reins he briefly wondered over the sickness that she bore.

After the trident and the unfortunate destruction of house Whent, Robert having learned of her supposed parentage was quick to offer her Harrenhal and it was then that she revealed her condition. Ned still remembered the spark in his friend's eyes when he asked if he can contract the sickness, the prospects of immortality appearing too much to the then young Baratheon. She smiled sadly and simply said that one cannot contract it just like that and besides, she would never let anyone else bear such sickness.

As he walked towards Karla, he can still hear Robert's booming voice, shouting and demanding an answer of why while the girl simply bent her head down and in a sullen voice simply responded that the price was too much without giving any explanation as for the meaning of her words.

"Welcome to Harrenhal, lord Stark." Said the lady of the fort, the voice just like the one of his daughter, but sounding strained, almost breaking even, as if it pained her to even speak to him. He had noticed that she conversed more normally with other people and that it was only him that she treated differently. 'Maybe because we are family'

"Thank you, lady Schnee." He stated, offering a slight bow as befitting to the lady of the house, the ruler of the home that they were in.

"My daughters, Sansa and Arya." He gestured. His two daughters offered greetings on their own and Ned cracked a barely-visible smile at the ginger bow that his younger child offered, noting the scowl that fell on the septa's face. He, however, also noted the look in his hostess's eyes.

While she was intently studying Sansa and to some degree he expected that, the two of them are just that much alike, there was a certain look of longing when she looked at Arya, almost as if she was barely restraining herself from rushing at the girl and embracing her.

"The servants would take your belonging up to your chambers. Would you join me for dinner?" she simply questioned.

"It would be our honor, my lady." Stated the northern lord.

"We are kin, lord Stark and you are a high lord while your brother in law is my overlord. Just Karla will do."

"My apologies, my L–Karla." He simply returned, eliciting a small laugh from the woman, somehow it all matching to the place they were in. Grim and empty on the outside, yet sparks of warmth and home on the inside.

* * *

 **Schnee – basically meaning snow in German and with the Empire in Warhammer fantasy been based on Germany and original Sansa spending some time there, she would well realize the irony of that name. There will be several interlude chapters that depict Original Sansa's adventures in the Warhammer world and how she came to be what she is… damn, this whole original and current Sansa is starting to get confusing.**

 **Yes, Sansa is a Warhammer fantasy vampire. The current events happen two years before the start of the books/show and as for from what point original Sansa comes from, well that remains to be seen.**

 **Thank you for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Blood of the North chapter 2**

 **I do not own ASOIF or Warhammer Fantasy**

* * *

Sansa had trouble sleeping, have been having for some time now.

She did not know why, her mind was telling her that everything was as it should be, if not even better. She was finally out of the dull north, not even a week away from King's Landing, the beating heart of it all. Just on the way south she saw dozens of knights at the very least, courteous and brave just like in the songs. And yet, her heart was warning her, of what she could not be sure. It was as if something would happen, as if something was approaching.

Every time she closed her eyes, her dreams were the usual ones before they turned… strange, ugly even. And almost all frightened her to her core.

She saw Winterfell a burning ruin, flashes of a flayed man sigil here and there as if she was surrounded by Bolton men despite having never even laid eyes upon a single one. And things kept on getting worse and worse. The familiar north was replaced with land that seemed eternally locked in night, with frightening monsters stalking every corner. She was certain even old Nan would have trouble conjuring all these creatures… so why was her mind doing it?

Sansa was taking a stroll through one of the many empty halls of the Kingspyre tower, the only place that was truly repaired in this fortress. When she first saw it, Harrenhal, she could hardly believe the sheer scale of it. Just the base of the Kingspyre tower was as large as the great hall in Winterfell. And yet, most of it was empty. Lady Karla had offered them choice of rooms, but before she can even formulate a response, Arya, the little animal, was already more or less screaming for a room at the top. So high was this tower that Sansa expected that there would be days where she would not even go to ground level.

She had found it in one of the previous nights, the open terrace with a lovely view of the lake, the massive expanse of water appearing endless. She had never seen so much water in one place and this lake was this massive that she barely saw the island in the middle of it, let alone the shore on the other end.

As she walked, however, she noticed that one of the two chairs that adored the terrace was already taken. The moon in the clear sky cast an otherworldly beautiful sheen upon the hair of lady Schnee and given how alike they look, Sansa hoped she would one day look this beautiful as well. A rather large book was in the lady's hands, the ruler of Harrenhal reading under the moonlight.

Sansa stopped walking, but before she had even fully come to a halt, the soft voice of the lady in front of her broke the stillness.

"Don't let me disturb your midnight walk, Sansa. Come, sit." She said softly.

"My apologies for disturbing you, my lady." Quickly apologized Sansa as soon as she sat down.

"Having trouble sleeping?" questioned Karla, not bothering to honor Sansa's apology with a response.

"I…" began Sansa before pausing, before casting her gaze away from Karla and towards the lake. "Just some bad dreams."

"Nightmares, by the looks of it." More of a statement than a question.

"Yes." Admitted the younger girl.

"What do you make of them?" questioned lady Schnee.

"My lady?"

"The dreams." She clarified. "Dreams are rarely… random. They hold meanings and maybe sometimes even more."

"Well… they were flashes of home and then I saw it burning while I was surrounded by flayed men." Karla's eyes widened substantially, breaking the composure of a noble lady that Sansa had seen she perfectly maintain up to now.

"Do you have the same dream, my lady?" questioned Sansa.

"I… yes." She responded uncertainly, sapphire breaking contact with sapphire, the lady of Harrenhal appearing deep in thought.

"But… you said dreams had meanings. Does this mean house Bolton will burn Winterfell?" Sansa questioned fearfully, eyes wide.

"No, or rather not necessarily." Returned Karla, her voice and stance returning to the one that the Stark girl had gotten used to.

"W-what?" stuttered out the northern lady.

"Tell me, do you know who is the greatest enemy of a great house?"

"Um… my lady?" uncertainly asked Sansa, the questioned taking her aback. Up to now, it was almost personal, yet not it suddenly took a turn towards something akin to a lesson.

"Just answer it, honestly."

"Another great house." Was the answer that the girl came up with.

"It would seem so at first, true." Said lady Schnee with a light nod of her head. "Have you ever heard of the Rains of Castamere?"

"I have heard of it as a song that is played often at court. I would love to learn it." Happily chipped in Sansa.

"No, you would not. It is a morbid song about the massacre of a family." Firmly and almost brutally stated Karla, leaving Sansa mouth agape.

"It is a warning that house Lannister use to their enemies. It was made after the feud between Houses Lannister and Rayne was settled."

"I have heard of it. Houses Rayne and Tarbeck rebelled against house Lannister and lord Tywin defeated the rebels." Sansa stated, recalling one of the lessons she had had.

"Yes, that is what one would tell a child… no, the rebellion ended with Tywin Lannister ordering the deaths of everyone in the forts of the two houses. The men, the elderly… the women and children. Infact, that old man did not even have the decency to carry out proper executions the way your father would have had. He collapsed the Tarbeck castle on them while he flooded Castamere when the Raynes barricaded themselves in caves. I even heard the queen say that he later hung all their bodies over the gates of Casterly rock."

At the end of the short story, Sansa stood, mouth agape. She stuttered out her next question.

"Wh…why are you telling me this?" she questioned.

"You are fostered with me, are you not? It is my duty to teach you, is it not? To teach you and your sister how the world truly works." Karla paused, theirs eyes meeting, a knowing glint in the lady of the house's eyes. "Loving songs is not a bad thing, they are a place that allow us to escape from the grim reality, but we must always remember that while they possess grains of truths… they are not everything."

A strange sound pierced the night and on the small table between the two chairs a bat suddenly landed, causing Sansa to flinch and let out a yelp. The poor girl scrambled out of her seat and taking a few steps back.

"Do not be frightened." Suddenly cut the voice of Karla. "They are quite lovable creatures, even if they are, and pardon my language, a bunch of noisy buggers."

"Bu-b-but my lady. How can you stand so calmly so close to it?" questioned Sansa, her mind barely registering anything that the lady of the house had said.

"We" she began, heavily emphasizing on the first part" have been standing calmly so close to them for quite some time, now." Calmly clarified lady Schnee. At Sansa's confusion, Karla simply pointed above the Stark daughter's head, just above the archway. There, she saw a good number of bats, calmly sitting, or rather – hanging. The girl was frozen in fear yet numbly sat back down when Karla gestured for her to do so.

Before she can do even do anything, a slice of a fruit she had never seen before from the bowl on the table that she was too shy to take from was forced into her hand. The much calmer red-head gestured with her head for the girl to… give the fruit to the bat. Gingerly did Sansa so just that, outright dropping the piece on the table when the bat jumped towards her hand.

Calming her racing heart, Sansa studied the creature. It was perhaps as large as a cat, but had a head that reminded her of a dog with large eyes, yet not quite. It also lacked a tailed and had a single claw. She noticed that it instead of eating and chewing, was actually licking the fruit and on the rare occasion that it took a bite, it chewed for a little before spitting it back out, causing the northern girl to grimace.

"See? They are not that bad, even if their table manners are somewhat lacking." Idly stated Karla, a light tone of amusement present in her voice as her blue eyes almost mischievously studied Sansa, as if she was enjoying torturing her, in a way.

"Mega bats, fruit bats, flying foxes. Call them what you will, but they are quite harmless. This little fellow is exactly that, a fruit bat and he eats just that – fruits. The smaller ones have an appetite for flies and other insects." Stated lady Schnee. "Quite helpful to keep them around a castle, even if you may have some headaches before you get used to the sound." Sansa was quite for a while as she observed the creature before them eat, her whole body finally returning to some semblance of calm and peace.

"You are quite knowledgeable about bats, my lady."

"As I should be. They are on my sigil, after all."

Just as suddenly, all bats took off into the night, starting the poor Stark girl.

"A crow or a raven might try peck out your eyes, but a bat would rather avoid you then do you any harm." Idly said Karla.

"Come, it is getting late." She got up from her seat, closing her book with a loud snap before taking the bowl of fruits in her free hand.

The two of them walked back inside the tower and outside of Sansa's room did they stop.

"I rather enjoyed our little talk tonight, but I hope I did not frighten you." Karla paused for a moment, allowing for their eyes to meet. "Perhaps I left the impression with you that everything is wrong in the world, but that is not the case. I simply wanted you not to take everything at face value, to at the very least try to see things as they truly are."

"No, my lady. Our conversation was both pleasant and eye-opening, thank you for your patience." Sansa's response and courtesy cause Karla to frown, yet nodded nonetheless before turning and leaving down the dark halls.

Back in her room, Sansa found herself unable to go back to sleep. Her body almost shivered from the memories of her dreams, the thoughts that filled her head and the experience she just had had. Frightening creatures of the night, lions and flayed men. The red-headed Stark felt small and lonely and for a moment, she envied her sister for she was certain that Arya would have had no problem with any of these… fears, she settled on calling them. For all her disgusting and unladylike behavior, Arya was brave and even Sansa could do nothing, but acknowledge that.

The elder sister began thinking about how the world was, what she knew of history, her mind going to the songs, to Bran the Builder and to knights like Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning and Ser Barristan the Bold. And then… figures like Maegor the Cruel and Aerys the Mad appeared. Memories of all the times her father left for an execution resurfaced. If the world was a song, why did her father have to punish so many criminals?

Sansa tried to return to the land of dreams that night, yet sleep eluded her.

* * *

 **The seeds have been planted, now all it takes is time and careful nurturing.**

 **Now, I had some time to really carefully think about the story and I am think that Sansa (original) will play an even larger game then what some might expect. Besides, it won't be just 'The war for the Dawn' and this reality's version of 'The war of five kings' that will be fought… there will be another major conflict on quite possibly an even larger scale then the other two, no spoilers just yet.  
**

 **Thank you for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Blood of the North chapter 3**

 **I do not own ASOIF/GOT or Warhammer**

* * *

The two Stark daughters were scared and even the ever-brave Arya was showing it. Barely a month ago, Lady Schnee did something left her gaping, yet she felt it would be something her father would have approved. She quite remembered it, a lesson in justice lady Karla she called it.

Some knight Sansa knew little about was captured on the Schnee lands and was brought to the very peak of the Kingspyre tower, the room that they were in having a wide open terrace with no railing and that man was on that very terrace, naked from the chest up

* * *

 **Flashback**

"Ah, the gracious lady greets us with her presence. Would you be kind enough to undo my bindings and no word of this will get out." He said, his voice a perverse mix of courtesy and threatening with no small amount of leering. Sansa took the opportunity to quickly study the man. She could not quite tell his height for he was on his knees, but he was not exactly lean and if Sansa was not always courteous, she would have said he resembled a pig if not for his thin nose.

Completely unconcerned, lady Schnee took a seat on a high back chair directly opposed the man, nothing else but this in the room. The northern girl quickly studied everyone that was present. There were four knights in full plate armor of house Schnee, bat-like wings adoring their shoulder plates while two dancing wolves stood engraved in their chests. The maester of the castle was there as well, a man she had seen very little off. Then there was her septa, a look of confusion mirroring her own. Even a septon from the nearby Harrentown was present.

"Ser Amory Lorch. My most sincere apologies for bringing you here in such a rush and also I must express my severe regret for the way my men handled you. It is all my fault, you see. I expressed a desire to learn more about the other battles of Robert's rebellions since I was only at the Trident and some of my knights sadly became overzealous in their pursuit to please me."

"No problem, my lady, I understand." Quickly responded the man, a greasy smile forming on his lips as he rose.

"You were at the battle of Kings's Landing?" questioned lady Schnee. Sansa always remember her father calling that a sack, not a battle although he usually stopped talking almost as soon as the topic was brought up. "And I heard you helped end the mad Targaryans's line?"

"Why, yes. We fought through scores of dragon loyalists once we stormed the Red Keep and we found the dragonspawn in their rooms before ending them there and then." He said with something akin to pride.

"Dragonspawn?" questioned lady Schnee although her expression was not of confusion, but rather that innocent expression that almost resembled herself when she look in the mirror.

"The Targaryan brats. I had to deal with the older one before sending her to her gods."

"The older one? You ended the life of Rhaenys Targaryan?" it was a question that by now had an obvious answer, but somehow it seemed that Karla wanted a direct straight-forward answer from the man.

"Yes, I did." The moment the man's words left his mouth did Karla's expression darken, somehow mirror by everything surrounding them. Outside, it somehow became darkened despite the clouds remaining as they were while what light was there in the unlit room in the early afternoon almost disappeared, leaving nothing but the open terrace as a strange, glowing gateway.

"Rhaenys Targaryan was barely three at the time of the Sacking of Kings's Landing." Her voice was hollow, echoing when she spoke.

"Tell me, septon Tobias, what do the gods think of the murder of children?" she asked without turning properly to face the old man. Septon Tobias, finally Sansa can place a name to one of the many new faces in the room.

"It is a most foul crime, milady. An insult to the gods, to the mother herself!" he stated in hard determination.

"Most foul indeed…" mumbled Karla before sharply getting up. Sansa then noticed that the usual gloves that she always bore were non-present.

"Sansa, Arya, I brought you here to witness justice, but I suggest you turn your heads away now." Her sister's eyes and her own became wide but for some unknown reason, she could not tear her eyes away from the lady that despite been possibly a head shorter than the man infront, somehow appeared to tower over him. She held their eyes for a second longer before turning back forth to the man whom by now had realized what was happening.

"You will regret doing this! Tywin Lannister will have your head on a spike! Your lands will burn, your women will be raped and your children will adore wall spikes!" he kept on shouting.

"Ser Amory Lorch. For the crimes of rape, theft and specifically, murder of children, confessed by you in the eyes of gods and men, I Karla of house Schnee, lady of Harrenhal, sentence you to die. There is no mortal justice to account for child slaying, but this will do…" she finished in a whisper and in an eye blink, she shoved her hand in Ser Amory's naked chest, the man and the room suddenly growing completely still.

Blood began dripping from around lady Karla's hand as well as from Lorch's mouth as he let out a strangled cry, a mix of a choke and a yelp. Just as suddenly as she had thrusted the hand in, she pulled it out, but this time, it held onto something. His heart, Sansa realized with dread. It was slowly pulsing, each pulse slower and weaker than the last as thin strand of flesh and blood still connected it to the man's innards. Karla raised it up to the man's eye level before… crushing it into a bloody pulp before his wide, frightened eyes.

She then shoved the remains of his heart back inside the bleeding…hole that was left gaping in his chest, the push this time giving him momentum and seeing as he already stood near the edge of the terrace, Amory lost his footing and tumbled down to his death from one of the tallest if not the tallest tower in all of Westeros, silently. Sansa and her sister stood unmoving, their blue and grey eyes locked upon the dark figure in the light background that was lady Schnee as she slowly lowered her hand down, droplets of blood pooling on the tips of her bloody fingers before dropping to the cold stone floor, creating the only sound in the otherwise still room. When Karla turned to them, Sansa could have sworn she saw red in her eyes.

 **End**

* * *

And that was over a month ago. That little execution had created quite the stir amongst the folk of the castle. A man shouting cursed and threats form the highest point for kilometers in all directions meant that a no small number of people saw him.

That day, after the execution and lady Schnee dismissing them, Sansa's only memories were going back to her room and empting her stomach in the chamber pot until nothing remained. She had hoped, wished, to never witness death, but having to witness one in such a… brutal fashion had truly shaken her. A small part of her questioned whether she and her sister were save in the presence of that lady.

The next few days were somber and at first, both she and her sister, much to her surprise, tried to avoid the lady. Ofcourse, they were in the end fostered there and they were expected to spend time and learn from the lady of the house. It took some time, but after Arya inquired abit for the proper background of the sack of King's Landing did the two of them realize that this was indeed justice. Still, that brought the question in the two Stark's minds as to why no one had brought people like Ser Lorch to justice. The answer they received… caused them to go into a mix of shock and something they cannot quite explain. Politics and appearances. With a Lannister queen few if any would dare go against a house with as fearsome reputation as the house of lions. Even fewer would fight for justice for the Targaryans, but this was one of the things that Karla tried to drive into her two pupils. She did not saw Aegon and Rhaenys are Targaryans, but as children brutally massacred.

But even the lady of Harrenhal was surprised by the actions of Tywin Lannister. She later confessed in private to the two of them that she outright expected for the old lion to directly attack her. Instead, he had gone to court to 'plead' his case before the king, queen and hand. Needless to say, bringing justice to the wayward lady of Harrenhal was put on the very top of the priorities of the realm.

And now, well over a month after that fateful day was King's Landing revealed to them. If she was to be honest, this was not how Sansa expected to see the capitol. Maybe it was because of recent events, maybe it was because of the truth that was revealed to her of what happened here during the rebellion, but she shied away from the many Lannister men and knights in the capitol, instantly turning her head the other direction as soon as her eyes fell on one. Still, her childish wonder did come to the surface and despite the nature of their visit, she was entranced by the many merchants of places she had not even heard about, the colorful people people, the knights of the Vale that had come to meet them, the gold cloaks that parted the commoners as they passed. In Winterfell and even at Harrenhal, they were somewhat sheltered, but here, now, they were the center of attention and people were not shy about pointing or whispering, if it can even be called that for everyone could hear the quite clearly.

As they moved ever forth towards the looming form of the Red keep in the distance, Sansa's eyes fell on the hooded form of Karla. It was a bright sunny day, not a single cloud in the sky. It was warm, stifling even, yet Karla was wearing a long deep red cloak with a hood. She had said that her skin was sensitive to the sun and in truth, for the few months that they had spent at Harrenhal, Sansa had rarely seen her out and about if it was not cloudy.

Eventually entering the courtyard of the red keep, what appeared to be a steward approached them. It would seem that they would not even have time to settle in before they had to face the court and judgment.

A few minutes later, their entire party was infront a set of massive double doors, gold cloaks standing guard on either side. As the two guards pushed the doors open and a herald quite obnoxiously announced them did they enter the throne room.

Sansa was wildly looking around, her eyes filled with wonder. She could not get enough of it, the highest of all nobility in the seven kingdoms flocked into this one place. She saw the iron throne, massive and imposing, her eyes widening at the form that sat slouched in it. _'This is the king?'_ she though in surprise. Her father always spoke of his old friend as a fit, great warrior. The man before her looked nothing like that. her eyes fell on the queen, as beautiful as all the songs portrayed her, a smile on her lips as her green eyes sparkled. On the King's other side stood a man that she realized was Jon Arryn, her father's foster father. He was an old man, slightly balding clad in dark blue with falcon sigils adoring his doublet.

At the foot of the Iron throne did the imposing kingsguard stood in their polished armor and white cloaks, looking ever the knights her songs described. And further infront of the kingsguard stood another old man clad in dark-red doublet, adorned in minimalistic, yet clearly visible lion motifs.

"Karla Schnee, you stand accused of the murder of ser Amory Lorch, an honorable knight and faitful servant to house Lannister. How do you plead?" questioned the queen, surprising Sansa. There were no greetings, no nothing exchanged. It was straight to the trial. Or so the queen liked.

"Greetings Robert." Rang out in the suddenly silent hall as hundreds of wide eyes suddenly fell on Karla as she addressed the king directly, completely ignoring the queen. Even if she did not, the casual manner in which she addressed the Baratheon was enough to leave everyone in shocked silence.

"Hah, greetings she says! Is that a way to green an old friend?" he shouts, surprising Sansa even more than she already was. "Fourteen years! Where the hell have you been?"

"Rebuilding Harrenhal, your grace. And it is still a long way from finished." She responded with a light smile.

"Aye, I heard of something like that. I should have given you a watch tower or something. That way, you could have visited more often!" cheerily returned Robert in good humor.

"Someday, I wonder if it would not have been better if you had." Lightly returned Karla, yet there was an underlying tone that perhaps means that she truly had such thoughts.

Lord Arryn then cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. Understanding without saying, Robert slouched back into his spiky seat.

"Aye… well, you know why are you here, Karla, let's get this over with." He said.

"Actually, I don't." she responded.

"You stand accused of the murder of a man, an anointed knight." Said Lord Arryn, although it was clear it was not an easy thing for him to say, almost as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"An anointed knight… ah, yes. Amory Lorch. I did execute a man by that name."

"Executing someone would imply that they are a criminal." Stated the queen. "That man was a loyal servant of house Lannister."

"If house Lannister employs murderers of children, then I have severe fear for the lords of the West. For such a dishonor to be linked with one's name…" calmly mumbled Karla, yet loud enough to be heard throughout the hall.

"You both confess to killing Ser Amory and insulting house Lannister. You should be exec-"began saying the queen before the king cut her off.

"Quiet, woman!" Robert quickly silenced her.

"It would seem the court had already come to a decision even before I had arrived at the capital." cut in the voice of lady Schnee, all the warm that she greeted the king with gone from her voice, replaced with the same dark echo that she used when she sentenced Ser Amory.

"Men will not see justice, so maybe the gods will. I demand a trial by combat." There was a murmur that carrier far over the throne room before Robert let out a laugh. Ignoring the king's merit, Karla finally looked the man clad in red that stood on the foot of the throne. "This, in the end, is a feud between me and you, Tywin Lannister." She stated, addressing him.

 _'This is Tywin Lannister?'_ Sansa thought. She did not know really what she expected, but it was neither meeting, not disappointing her expectations. Despite his age, the man portrayed power and stance.

"Name your champion." Stated Lady Schnee.

"My son, Jaime Lannister." Was his quick response.

"Jaime Lannister is of the Kingsguard. He serves the crown and crown only and as such, he cannot fight to settle a feud between me and you. Another." Quickly returned Karla, almost as if having expected such an answer. The next suggestion was not long after.

"Ser Gregor Clagane." He simply stated. Not soon has the name left his lips and a person from the crowds made himself known.

"My lady Schnee! I volunteer to be your champion!" Sansa's head whirled around, eventually finding the speaker. He was dark skinned, with short dark hair and piercing black eyes. _'Dornish'_ the elder Stark realized _'of_ _house Martel_ ' she judged further by his clothing, adorned with spear-pierced suns.

"Thank you, Prince Oberyn, for the kind offer, but I am no Lannister. I am no coward. I lead by an example and I will never let anyone fight my battles for me." There was an uproar at her words, directly insulting the house of the queen.

"I, myself, will fight." Karla stated, turning back towards the throne, her sapphire eyes piercing the emerald of Tywin in a battle of wills.

In that moment, Sansa felt truly frightened.

* * *

 **Well, to start things of. Someone asked for more info on Warhammer Vampires. Basically… they don't sparkle. Ok, lame explanation. They are stronger, faster, drink blood and while only the stronger vampires can walk in daylight, they still feel pain while doing so. Also, while depending on the vampire 'clan', most vampires are proficient in necromancy, fighting with massive armies of undead.**

 **Sansa's (vampire) move might appear rushed, but it had its veeeeeeery long term goals and in the next few chapters, there will be enough hints to allow people to see what those goals are.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it.**

 **Thank you for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Blood of the North chapter 4**

 **I do not own Warhammer or ASOIF/GoT**

* * *

Both she and her annoying, ever proper sister were sitting in one of the rooms high up in the red keep. Arya though heading south would mean been away from all the boring chores, all the learning and the annoyance that was her septa. Given that the septa had come down south with them, she tried to keep her other hopes high, but when her eyes fell on Karla for the first time, seeing an older image of her sister, her world came crushing down.

For the most part, though, lady Schnee left the septa to continue their studies and Arya though it would be like that - the usual boredom during the day without having the familiar household to cover her up when she wanted to run away and in the evening, what she can only describe as political and worldly lessons with the lady of the house. Usually, she would be all for doing boyish things, but the things they learned felt as if they were for a lord and not…well… them. It was pointless boredom in her eyes.

Learning each region's specialty, which house was affiliated with which one, all pointless and unnecessary.

It was another of those lessons and this time to top it all, they had a guest so she atleast had to try to look interested. Her sister as always stood proper and at attention, absorbing everything quickly. The guest was the Martel prince and if she was to be honest, he unnerved her. He had almost an unnatural laidback feel to him, a smile never leaving his face. The looks he cast towards Karla were not lost on Arya as well and all the times the two of them spent together simply walking through the gardens and idly conversing as they awaited for the mountain that rides to arrive in the capitol was odd enough as well.

"Do you girls remember out talk of 'the empire' and it's good and bad sides?" suddenly, out of the blue questioned Karla. Their mentor liked to go into such… story-like scenarios. Reviewing history and asking what would have happened if this lord had done this instead of that and what not. How was she supposed to know that? And then came the fictional ones, supposedly for them to learn different forms of government and understand then and use them to their advantage, in her words, anyway.

The empire, as she called it, was one of those. There were also Bratlonia and Killself. Not even the naming was interesting.

Still, her sister was quick to nod while Arya had to all but keep her head from smashing into the table, if only because of their guest…

"What would happen if the Seven kingdoms operated under the same structure?" questioned Karla.

"My lady… how… the royal family… King's Landing…" began stuttering Sansa, causing Arya to raise a subtle eyebrow. She was paying attention?

"There is no 'royal family'. Robert is still married to Cersei, but he is the lord of Storm's end, King's Landing has never existed and the Targaryans, whoever they may be right now and still alive, rule in Dragonstone. The decisions must be made between Stark, Greyjoy, Tully, Arryn, Targaryan, Baratheon, Tyrell, Lannister and Martel." She paused after the long list. Arya mentally counted them in her head. Why were they called the seven kingdoms if they were… nine. "Who would be emperor?"

"King Rob-" Sansa caught herself in time. How can king Robert be emperor if he was not a king to begin with. Her sister was really stupid. "Lord Robert."

"Why?" quickly asked Schnee as soon as Sansa's answer had left her mouth.

"Because… ah… he is married to que-lady Cersei and is a renowned warrior?"

"And that is about it. The support of two kingdoms out of nine with possible backing from the North and the Vale and been a good warrior… which would be great had we been in need of an emperor in times of war… which we are currently not in." Karla turned her head to her and internally Arya sighed knowing what was coming.

"Arya?"

"I dunno… father maybe…" she mumbled, wanting to give an answer and be left in peace.

"Not bad." Actually said Karla, surprising Arya.

"W-what?" questioned the small girl.

"He is widely known as a just and honorable man, had strong connections to both the Riverlands and the Vale and is quite possible for Robert to support him as well. I even once remember the current king saying that he was 'piss tired of it', referring to been king."

"But enough of this guessing. Starting from north to south. The Greyjoys?" Arya snorted at that.

"Yes, that about covers it…" said her mentor with a small smile accompanied by a laugh from their guest before he took a sip from his wine.

"Your grandfather?"

"He would… have the backing of the Vale and the North?" uncertainly asked Sansa.

"True, but that is about it. Lord Hoster does not stand out above the rest the same way that dear old Robert does. Also, he is quite old. Not a very good choice."

"The Lannisters?" there was a general feeling of cold at just the mention of that family.

"Robert would support them." Said her sister.

"Possible but unlikely. Besides Tywin is widely known for his ruthlessness. Him as an emperor would mean a second Maegor if not worse. And once again, he is rather old."

"Lord Arryn?"

"Honorable man…?" nod "With support of the North, Riverlands and Stormlands?" nod "But old?" Sansa answer and lady Karla gave a final nod.

"Very much so. Good, you are starting to understand."

"The Targaryans?" another dreadful silence befall the group of four.

"We…cannot tell. There is not a clear choice." Stated Sansa.

The Dornish princeling then burst into laughter.

"Avoid the question all together by stating a technicality. Good, good, very political." Casting a sideways glance at her sister, she saw her blushing under the praise. As always her ever-perfect sister getting all the attention. Typical.

"The Tyrells?" pressed on Karla.

"No allies?" responded Sansa, only for Oberyn to smirk.

"And their lord is a fat fool while his heir is a cripple." He filled in.

"A cripple by your doing, Oberyn." Said Karla, making eye contact with the southerner prince. "Which leaves Dorne… no allies." This time, she said it herself, Oberyn raising his cup in a mock toast to her words before taking a drink.

"What of you?" Arya suddenly felt asking, momently stunning Karla if her wide eyes were any indication.

"And what of me?" she returned.

"The Starks and Tullies would back you, you are kin and Robert likes you as well."

"I cannot be considered for the running. The Riverlands had a high lord and besides, neither the Tullies, not the Starks would support me. Whether legitimate or not, in their eyes I am a bastard." Arya had truly heard her parent arguing and she can recall her mother calling Karla that, but still.

"This is not fair! You are good, honorable, just. You are even immortal, meaning there won't be any need for this stupid election thing afterwards."

"Dorne will support you." suddenly spoke up Oberyn.

"In Sunspear, we place less value on the birth of the person and more on who he or she is." He clarified, bringing a small smile to Karla's face.

"Even if I am worthy of been empress, it would be hard for me to be in a position to be considered." Was all she said before she ushered them out.

* * *

That was yesterday and somehow, Arya found the memory very deeply engraved in her mind. As stupid as it was, she could not help but notice one thing. Karla had said that this… election system was so that a worthy person can ascend the throne but in the end, it all boiled down to whom is married to whom. So if a man married everyone, he would be emperor? Ugh, this is stupid. If the nobles would not choose a worthy ruler, who would?

The younger Stark daughter had trouble comprehending a lot of things. Like how even if Karla had executed men who had committed crimes, had confessed doing so and is even common knowledge by everyone what they had done, she now had to stand trial. Just… why? It made no sense. Nevertheless, she decided to end her pondering for it all may be for naught.

It was the day of the trial and she was in the stands awaiting for it to start. They were on one of the terraces of the Red Keep, a beautiful view of the sea revealed to them. And looking at Karla's opponent, she was, despite herself, certain that Karla will die. The mountain? Pretty accurate as far as she was concerned. The tallest of tall men, armored from head to toe, a shield with his house sigil in one hand and a sword in the other that most people would probably need two even just to lift.

On Karla's side, just a single man at arms stood, clutching the largest sword she had ever seen, still in its sheath. And then, Karla appeared.

Clad in a formfitting dark armor, the details were too much to take in. The shoulders looked like bat wings, the left one larger than the right, while the breastplate appeared to be as if a white ribcage wrapped around the dark metal underneath. Her boots were heeled while a weird white half-skirt covered her left leg, reaching just underneath her knee, a large black running wolf on it. She idly noted the sun disappearing behind the sparse clouds as Karla carefully went over to her soldier and very slowly pulled out the sword, almost too slowly.

Arya then realized. This was her Valyrian sword, the one she had heard so much about and the one she had… forgotten. _'Nothing cuts like Valyrian steel.'_ Idly appeared her head. Maybe this is why she is pulling it out so slowly.

Karla brought the sword before her, stabbing it into the ground and putting both hands on the handle as her movements stopped and for a moment, Arya wandered what she was waiting for before some old maester walked forth. He started going on about gods and justice, but the younger Stark daughter simply ignored him. Her grey eyes were instead locked onto the forms of the two combatants, constantly darting in-between.

And suddenly, the mountain and lady Schnee were rushing at one another. Her orbs were glued to their silueths, to the massive form of the Western lord which moved with surprising speed yet when compared to Karla, he might as well be standing still.

The lady of Harrenhal blocked a strike with the flat of her blade before with her left hand grasping Gregor's shield and in a circular motion, pulled downwards. Arya wondered what she was trying to achieve. Surely, she cannot move something…this…big. And yet, the mountain stumbled forwards and down after his shield, Karla using the momentum to deliver a blow to his head with the pommel of her massive weapon, causing the mountain to stumble even more, all the while the crowd oooo, booing and cheering.

Enraged, the giant of a man unstrapped his shield and tossed it aside before madly charging the lady, who simply sidestepped to the side but caught his blade with her own and instead with the flat side, it was edge to edge. A moment later, the better part of the blade of the mountain clattered to the ground, cleanly severed from the rest.

"it would be too long to list all your crimes… let the gods judge you for them all." Camly said Karla, her voice carrying far and wide over the stands. Suddenly, the lady shoved her sword through the mountain's mouth, complete stunned silence befalling the scene. A second later, she twisted the sword one way, then the other before separating the upper part of his head from the body and the jaw before slowly lowering her sword.

This was the second death Arya had witness and she swallowed heavily, the normally simple noise ringing as temple bells in her head at the deadly silence all around. The girl then saw lady Schnee bending down and picking the severed head up by the hair before looking towards the stands and tossing it. Her wide grey eyes tracked it with morbid fascination as it landed at the feet of the Martel prince.

No one dared moved as all eyes remained at the head, grimly watching as a pool of blood began forming underneath it. The silence was broken by an evenly spaced clicking sound.

Karla was walking away without, calmly and proudly, even the composed lady even when covered in armor.

* * *

 **Judging by the comments, it would seem a lot of people were used to been spoon-fed a story down to the last detail. This is not that kind of story. Deal with it. Everything happened for a reason, you just have to look deeper or wait.**

 **Thank you for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Blood of the North chapter 5**

 **I do not own Warhammer fantasy or ASOIF/GoT**

* * *

"My lord Lannister, will you take a walk with me?" that single line startled and surprised him more than he cared to admit.

The old lion had just finished talking with his son, trying to convince him for the seven only knew which time to forsake his white cloak and assume his rightful position as heir to the west. It would be easy enough to settle, especially with the massive debt the crown owns his family and the high septon at his pay. All he needed was but a word.

And this is how lady Schnee found him, walking briskly, stiffly even, fuming inside at his son's continues rejections.

For some gods-forsaken reason, he decided to humor the girl, although given her condition, she may have very well been older than him. Oh, if only he himself possessed such a… affliction. The two of them have been walking in silence for some time now, strangely hand in hand, her slim hand resting on his elbow, the redhead been barely shorter than him.

"You look remarkably like Ned Stark's daughter." He found himself stating, if only to break the silence, to coax her into speaking what she wanted.

"I never took you as a man for small talk." She responded, her face remaining that of a polite smile yet he took small pleasure in seeing perhaps a hint of fear in her blue eyes.

"I am not, but can you deny it?" he returned quickly.

"No one can, but then again, we share blood."

"Ah, yes, that story of you been a… love child of a Stark and a Whent. Your similarities certainly give credit to your claim."

"A Whent… or a Lothston." She reminded him. "All I know was that my parent's sigils were bats and wolves. Everyone assumed it is a Whent."

House Lothston, Tywin mussed. If she was indeed from that house, seeing as it was extinguished even before he was born, that would make her older than him. The old lion could not help himself but recall the stories that he was put to bed with. When he was a child it was a good ten years after the fall of that house yet stories still remained that chilled people to the bone. In the last years of her life, Danelle Lothston had created a reputation for her house to match that of the Boltons or at the very least, the Cleganes.

The two of them fell into silence before Tywin broke it.

"Why did you want to speak with me… or better yet, why did you do what you did?" they came to the edge of the terrace on which the gardens were place, the sea been revealed to them, a fresh breeze washing away the stifling heat.

"Tell me, lord Tywin, how would you describe the realm as we stand now?" she asked. The old lord, for once, was at loss of words. It was not really a question one would expect.

"Fractured. Weak. Ripe for the taking." Were her word, her voice so sure, he almost believe them despite his nature.

"The Greyjoy rebellion was a testament to how… non-unified the realm is. Even if most other kingdoms backed Robert in putting it down, the fact that one could even try to splinter in such fashion and be successful even as much as they were, is worrying. " Tywin though back and could not help but agree to her. It took time to put the Greyjoys down, much more than it should have been necessary to defeat glorified pirates.

"The Westerlands and you in particular are hated throughout the land, the North is isolated, both geographically and politically. The Vale's heir is the sickly child of a very old man. Dorne stand alone and have somehow managed to aggravate their only ally from the last war, the Tyrells." She listed throughout the kingdoms.

"A good number of houses are in debt and not even to entities within the Seven kingdoms. The crown itself is in a massive debt" she paused before turning to him. "How long do you think this can last?"

"Why are you telling me all this? What do you hope to gain?" he responded with a question of his own. "What do you want?" she fell into silence, a long drawn out one. When she spoke, her eyes were full of emotions. Deep hatred, sorrow and resolve intermixing into one terrible, yet breathtaking shade of blue.

"I hate you. I hate you for your past and future deed, for your way of thinking, for what you stand for." She said, her voice flucturing with emotion. "Yet the realm would need men like you, men in your position. And you, we still have time to mend the realm and strengthen it."

'Lions and sheep…' rang out in Tywin's head. "What is your game? Why do you care so much for the realm?" he took in an uncharacteristically deep breath. "You make it sound as if war is coming." And when emerald men sapphire, he knew that she truly believed that.

"There are those that would see the realm tear itself apart for their own gains while been blind to the larger picture."

"Hm, and what is the larger picture? The two exiled Targaryans? Some free city getting the idea to invade the seven kingdoms?" questioned Tywin.

"You will know when the time is right. For now, we should try out hardest to remain at peace and for all of us to unify properly." She stated, criptic and vague. This whole conversation was quickly getting on Tywin's nerves.

"Besides, you should look into your legacy. It is not as secured as you think it is…" the old lion's eyes widened.

"Was that a threat?"

"No, I am simply brining matters to your attention that you should know… and prevent others from knowing if we are to have peace." Tywin had enough. As she was walking away, he seized her by the hand roughly and in a low voice, he said.

"You will stop your mind games and speak straight. What is it you mean." Without turning, Karla returned in an even, unconcerned voice.

"The queen has three children, all of them gold of hair and green eyed. The king has gods know how many bastards, all black of hair and blue eyes." And with surprising strength, Karla yanked her hand from Tywin's grip before walking away, completely composed.

* * *

Nearly an year had passed since the events in King's Landing and the two Stark daughters found themselves relaxing more and more in the presence of the lady of Harrenhal with each passing day. They have gotten used to her quirks, if one can even call them that, although getting used to something did not mean that they remained blind to just how strange, at times, her behavior was.

She still rarely went out during the day and it seemed Karla was never asleep, always up and about and when she was not actively ruling, her face was buried in a book and more often than not, it was a history book and occasionally, one on legends and myths.

Around them, Harrenhal was nearing the end of it's restoration and one time while Karla was teaching them personally, Arya brought up the question of just where did she get all the money for the castle, in her own unique way.

"Harrenhal is a greater castle and commands larger and richer lands than Riverrun, as well as controlling several major roads." She began at first, almost jokingly with a small smile on her face although there was an underlying line of seriousness.

"No, I primarily got my money by selling two swords."

"What?" questioned both girls in unison. This was definitely not something they expected.

"I was not always lady of Harrenhal and for a time I spent a lot of time in Essos. My… conditioned allowed me to go to places most people would not be able to and one of those places was Valyria." From the corner of her vision, Sansa saw Arya's eyes filling with excitement and she would be lying if she was not interested herself.

"Now, Valyria was not a single city, but several and while the cities on the northern peninsula were mostly looted completely, the ones on the southern end still had quality goods in them." Karla stated with almost a fond smile. "Now, mind you, we are not talking about piles of gold at every street corner. For all the town I scoured on the isle, I found just three Valyrian swords, four average pouches filled with deferent jewelry and a surprisingly small sum of gold compared to the rest, just about twenty thousand if it was to be in golden dragons."

"And you see, after I returned here and dear old Robert declared me lady of Harrenhal, I knew I would need more than twenty thousand coins to repair it. Much more. So I approached houses Lannister and Tyrell with the offer for them to buy a Valyrian sword. House Lannister used to own such a blade, but their king lost it some time before the conquest while the Tyrells never had one." She paused for a moment.

"It is comical to what lengths some people would go to give their power some credibility. The Tyrells were never kings or lords, only becoming such when the Targaryans arrived. As for Tywin, well, he wanted to regain, in his eyes, the lost status that came with possessing such a blade." Karla sighed here.

"It took some time as lord Lannister called some blacksmith from Volantis to verify that the swords were indeed Valyrian steel and not something just made to look like one. And as you can imagine, it took some time for a message to reach Volantis, and then for that man to actually get here. It was annoying, if I am to be honest."

"So that's it?" questioned Arya, her voice a mix of excitement and disappointment. "No hidden trade agreements or massive gold mines underneath Harrenhal? You sold two swords?" "It seems so…simple…"

"Arya, Sansa, what does your family name mean?" suddenly questioned Karla.

"Amm… empty?" returned Sansa.

"Plain, empty, barren… simple. True. More often than not, the simpler a thing is, the better. Something with that many more parts stands a larger chance of breaking down. The strength of a chain is its weakest link."

"I see…" mumbled the red-headed daughter.

"Arya." Unexpectedly Karla addressed the youngest girl in the room. "I always meant to, but never got around to. You like, you want to fight, no?"

"Yes!" excitedly shouted the silver-eyes girl.

"Later today, we will go to the armory and you can pick a weapon and I will personally train you with it. A fair warning, there are some very exotic weapons, quite a lot that Westeros has never even seen."

And true to her promise, Karla had indeed taken to a back room in the armory of the castle where Arya's eyes widened as she started going from rack to rack, her eyes unable to take in all. Sickles, chains, sickles with chains, different forms of daggers, axes, poleaxes, polearms, spears, glaives, Dothraki arakhs, some swords with long handles that Karla said were from slaver's bay.

Arya finally stopped before something that she could not quite describe.

"Is this some weird… Essosi shield?" asked Arya, prompting a laugh from Karla.

"No. This is called a shuriken. The real thing is much smaller and is used as a throwing weapon although I have found that you can use this quite well in melee although you have to be careful not to impale yourself."

"I want this!" stated Arya.

"Are you sure?" questioned lady Schnee. "This is not like a sword that is easy to learn, hard to master. This is hard to learn and harder still to master. Your reach is short, it is large and unyielding, and if you are not careful, you can easily cut yourself."

"And if I master it?" asked the small girl with a more somber, subdued voice.

"I cannot tell for certain. Against armored opponents, it would be difficult. You will have the mass, but thrusting would not be easy. But overall, everyone will be at a loss how to fight against you since such a weapon has not been seen here."

Since that day on, Arya had begun training with Karla on how to use her new weapon although while initially they planned on training almost every evening, they had to reduce it to barely two times a week due to how much Arya cut her hip, yet despite the pain the petite girl had some strange determination to learn the weapon and because of this iron will, Sansa could not help but, for the first time in her life be jealous of her. Still, even a blind man could have seen that Karla, over the last year, have been trying to bring the two Stark daughter together.

While despise would have been too strong of a word, Sansa nevertheless disliked her sister and yet, she found herself sitting idle and observing Arya's training simply because there was nothing else to do. There were no girls her age, her lessons were all done and dinner would not start until the younger Stark's training was finished. In the end, it was boredom that drove Sansa to do what she did, lying to her sister that she will be making her a dress, only to create a harness for her weapon, embroidered with direwolves all over it.

Sansa remembered her sister's expression well enough when she finally handed it over to her. Arya was so shocked, she did not speak or move for a whole minute before suddenly embracing her and just as suddenly pulling away and mumbling a thank you in a small voice.

Despite all this, the elder sister could not help but remember Karla's expression, a mix of victorious grin… and bittersweet, nostalgic smile.

* * *

 **Yeah, I gave Arya an outlandish weapon, possibly it may have to do with me playing Tera far too much (middle of university session - best time to pick up new games). If anyone wonders how the weapon looks and how it will be used, just Google Tera ninja game play or something. Does it fit the ASOIF universe? Rather no. Does it fit Warhammer universe? Questionable, but with so many things over the top there, I would not be surprised if such a weapon existed, but in the end it is both a minor thing and I will try to make it as much realistic as I can.**

 **All in all, this was a sort of a gap-closer chapter and don't worry, more things from Warhammer will be making their appearances, possibly even in the next one.**

 **Thank you for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Blood of the North chapter 6**

 **I do not own Warhammer or ASOIF/GoT**

* * *

"Yo, ya git. Start yappin or I'll rip yer head off!"

"Y-y-yes, ofcourse, mighty Vradrugar Rivesplita! We found a mighty fortress, yes yes, with tall walls and great towers. A worthy conquest!"

"Uggh…"growled out the black orc as he gazed down at the quivering goblin. It has been almost painful for the mighty orc warlord to sit deep within the mountains, waiting for the boys to get back to numbers ever since they arrived. Yet now, the waiting was over.

"You hear' that, boyz? The waitin' is over! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" from a thousand throats resonated across the mountain.

* * *

Sansa was frightened, both she and her sister. She thought she was so when lady Schnee had done that…stunt with the Lannister knight, but now…

Back then, Karla always remained composed, confident and everything turned out just fine. Yet now, she almost looked frightened. It was only two days ago when during dinner a messenger hastily arrived at dinner, giving a sealed letter to Karla that she began to read out loud to her and her sister. It stated that a band of large, green-skinned creatures were raiding villages surrounding Riverrun. Sansa wanted to dismiss them as some outlaws that had painted their skin somehow, but Karla's expression spoke volumes of something else.

Sansa tracked the other girl's eyes as she over and over again reread the message time and time again before slowly dropping her hands down, her eyes adopting a far-away look, a mix of deep though, concern and maybe, just maybe - fear. A fear that soon spread to both her and Arya as by the end of dinner that day, Karla had called her banners.

On the very next day, a message had arrived that those green-skinned creatures had besieged Riverrun. Some of the knights that were to command the different parts of lady Schnee's army urged her to march to the capitol of the Riverlands as soon as possible, but she simply shook her head, stating that Riverrun would already have fallen and while no one believed her at first, on the second day since the first message, the news that indeed the Tully seat had fallen arrived.

Sansa remembered not been able to find a place, crying her eyes out for the unknown fates of her grandfather and uncle while Arya was constantly pacing the tower up and down, fury across her face as nearly every hour she bothered Karla to march towards the enemy. This, all of it was so sudden. A completely unknown enemy appearing out of the blue and in an eye blink managing to seize a strong castle such as Riverrun.

Karla has on two occasions send them to their mother's childhood home and while no experts, the two sisters could agree that it was a stronger castle than most.

On the third day, Sansa saw from her tall tower as hundreds of men began arriving down into Harrowtown. Most were soldiers of lady Karla, men from distant villages that just now got here. And yet, there were many others. Over the past year, the elder daughter has been steadily learning the houses of her mother's homeland and despite how far she was, she could easily tell the banners. The wavy white-gold-green pattern of house Butterwell, the red salmon on a field of white of house Mooton and even the lone green weeping willow of house Ryger. Them and many other were steadily streaming in throughout the day.

Despite recent events, Arya was somehow enjoying herself, running amongst the men but it all came to an end soon. Karla informed them that she would be sending them to King's Landing with a group of thirty riders and that their father had already been informed. The lady of Harrenhal assured them that the king and lord Jon will take good care of them, despite Arya's many protests. As the red keep came into view for the second time in an year, Sansa could still hear her sister's screams. 'I can fight, I have been training! I can help you!'

* * *

Karla, or rather Sansa Stark von Carstein's mind was ablaze. It was getting close to painful with all the thoughts running through her head. She knew full well what she was dealing with, what she was marching against. It was an orc Waaagh. A part of her pondered how they got here. A larger part was screaming, accusing her of having brought them into the Riverlands. Yet the part forged of years in the harshness of Sylvania was simply telling her that there was an enemy that she must crush under her heeled boot.

And her internal struggle aside, she had to deal with these Riverlords. She had heard the saying many times that the lords of the trident hold grudges for long, but this was ridiculous, getting dangerously close to dwarven levels. It almost felt as if she was babysitting them all and given that she was the oldest there, it would not have been that untrue of an observation. And people said the North remembers…

"I'll be damned before I let some prancing Bracken pony lead the cavalry!" shouted the lord of Raventree hall as he glared at the man across from him. Most of the Blackwood army still remained north of Red Fork, yet a cavalry detachment was sent south nonetheless and Karla wished they were not here. Minor squabbles between minor houses were one thing, but the Blackwood-Bracken feud was almost legendary at this point.

She truly missed Sylvania at that moment. No one would have dared even remotely raise their voice in her presence even if she was not like her night kin, for the most part at any rate. Still, with the situation of the Tullies remaining an unknown for the most part, she now stood as the most powerful ruler in the Riverlands. Yes, Riverrun was sacked by all accounts, yet her uncle atleast could have escaped nonetheless.

"Enough! House Bracken will lead the cavalry." Stated Karla in an even voice that somehow managed to silence all, if only for a moment.

"Who in the seven hells do you think you are, girly, ORDERING ME AROUND?!" returned venomously Tytos Blackwood.

"I am Karla Schnee of Harrenhal, currently the strongest ruler in the Riverlands. My word is law unless you want to return north and obey the Frey?" that simple statement was enough for the lord to sack back into his seat, defeated, if only for a moment.

Karla felt a bile rising in her throat for the words she was about to utter, the old Sansa coming through once again.

"Does anyone else have a problem with me not having a cock hanging between my legs?" dead silence followed her stated with only the occasional chuckles from several lords.

They have been camped at northern base of High Heart for half a day now, waiting for the scouts to return, a job that would probably take a good two days in on itself. As everyone quieted down, Karla's eyes returned to the map in front. The green-skins were both stupid, yet should not be underestimated, for if they have somehow a semi-competent warlord by whatever means, the situation can go from bad to worse in an eye blink.

The most logical thing would be for them to continue their pillaging downriver towards Harroway's town. North were mountains while they were south. The south-west was a possibility which if they took meant the destruction of a no small number of towns and villages south on the Red Fork. They could potentially encircle them should they head that way, but that was too big of an IF for Karla's liking.

A man was suddenly rushed into the tent by a pair of Darry men at arms. The man was old, his appearance unkempt and was clad in rags.

"Tell the lords what you told us." Roughly said one of the guards, shoving the man forward.

"They came over the fields, their green skin sticking out from the crops. The tall ones killed anyone that might have fought back, but the small ones…" the man looked at the verge of tears.

' _Goblins'_ instantly ran through Karla's head. That instantaneously complicated matters. Goblins means more archers, possible siege equipment of any description that a git may be mad enough to put together but above all – possible mages and it was still years too early for her to reveal her true self.

"They tortured, ransacked. The few of us that managed to run away heard only screams behind us." He stuttered out.

"Where was your village?" questioned Karla. Before the man could respond, the guards did for him.

"Duskstones, half way between here and the Stone Mill." That threw the room into an uproar. The scouts were heading north towards Riverrun while any outlying sentries would spot the enemy but a few short hours before they would arrive here.

As the man was ushered out, lord Blackwood grudgingly asked, his voice mixed with contempt, mocking and genuine curiosity.

"Well, what now, lady Schnee?" after a moment of contemplation, Karla answered.

"The Stone mill is probably already sacked. We will move towards it with most of the army. Once there, we will decide out course of action. Ideally, they would have headed south and we will crush them before the walls of Pinkmaiden. The ones that remain here would move north till they reach the River Road and blockade it. Hopefully, some army from the north will be coming down. While I doubt the Frey to do anything, we can atleast hope on the Mallisters."

"And what of the Lannisters?" questioned lord Darry. At Karla's raised eyebrow, he clarified.

"We are talking about large movement of armies close to their borders and with you having recently antagonized them, who knows what Tywin would do."

"At most, we can expect a small band of pillaging knights from that old man." She took a deep breath. "No, he would not try something major."

"Now, enough worrying. Pick up camp. We have greenskins to catch." Some of the younger lords gave almost a cheer. _'Glory-starved children.'_

They marched for half a day and Karla just knew they were not fast enough to straight up catch a Waaagh. Instead, they would have to force them into a trap or lure them into a battle. The orcs have driven themselves into a corner, of a sort and while one can pass the mountains surrounding this branch of the Red Fork, an army would take a lot of time to pass through.

Still, at the first night of camp, Karla extended her senses. Her inherited warg abilities mixing with the vampire blood in her veins gave her a massive power over the night life. She saw the pillaging greenskins band, indeed but a day away from Pinkmaiden. If the Riverlands host headed straight for Pinkmaiden from this position, it would take them a day and a half, not even nearly enough time. She had little doubt that there would be no siege, but an outright assault from the moment those things laid their eyes on the castle. Nevertheless, she decided that they would march straight towards Pinkmaiden. Maybe they will be lucky and the greenskins would be delayed somehow.

* * *

At the supper table at Winterfell, Caitlyn was sobbing hysterically as Eddard's gaze remained glued to the letter. Silently, he thanked Karla for having the sense to send his girls to the capitol. Robert would keep them save. But what has already transpired…

Riverrun been sacked was a major shock and it took him three times to read before fully clicking in his mind. He still carried his doubts about just what those greenskins were, but the fact that they have managed to do what they have done is a no small feat. Anyone that has seen the Tully stronghold knows that it cannot just be sieged like any other castle.

As the put the letter down, Ned wondered what he was to do. He can ride south with a small band of men and would probably reach Riverrun in a week and a half if he rode his horse to death. But then again, what would a handful of men be able to do. At the same time calling for all his banners and marching south would be too much of a time span and if how sudden this all was, time was not on their side.

In a rare moment of anger, Eddard crushed the letter in his hand.

"Lywin, prepare thirty riders as fast as possible and make sure they are well supplied and equipped. Send messages ahead to any major castles down the road to Riverrun for fresh horses to await us."

* * *

Sansa was shacking as she had just finished giving her account before the entire court of King's Landing. Just like last time, nearly the moment they arrived, they were rushed before the iron throne, only this time she had to do the talking.

"Calm down, girl. You've done well." Spoke Robert at the end of her story, Sansa having shared what little she knew.

"You two will dine with me. I got some stories about your father would not want to hear." The king gave a small chuckle at his own statement.

"Well Jon? Still thinking those are some outlaws with a thing for green?"

Clearing his throat, the hand spoke.

"We are yet to receive any word from lord Hoster or Edmure. The Blackfish has left the Vale and it would seem half the Riverlands are mobilized."

"Aye, and I heard that Tywin had called some of his banners. Can't say I blame him, though. Such a force at his borders."

"KINGSLAYER, get infront!" suddenly shouted Robert after a moment of silence. As ser Jaime almost casually stood before the king and executed almost a mock bow, the Stag spoke again.

"You will take some of your bloody Lannister guards and ride for the Riverlands. You will observe this mess and if it falls to it, stop your father from doing something stupid."

"Stupid, your grace?" asked Jaime smirking.

"Attacking the Riverlands, you golden-haired prick! This is a royal degree, you hear?"

* * *

 **In future chapter, wherever they may be 'orcish' I would probably write it in normal English. My normal English is broken and purposefully writing broken is just….epic fail.**

 **Thank you for reading.**


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